Citizens’ Initiatives and Environment: The Potential of the European Citizens’ Initiative for Influencing the Policy Agenda in Environmental Law Matters

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademic

Abstract

The European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) was introduced by
the Lisbon Treaty (Art. 11 (4) TEU) as an innovative mechanism
of participatory democracy1 enabling EU citizens to
influence the policy agenda of the EU. Its scope covers all
fields of EU competence for which the European Commission
can propose a legal act of the Union. Its use is of particular
relevance for areas of collective interest, such as the
protection of the environment or public health. It therefore
comes as no surprise that environmental protection is one
of themost common subjectmatters among initiatives submitted
to the European Commission for registration so far.2
The ECI thus adds another weapon to the arsenal of environmental
participatory rights. The present contribution
aims to assess the use of this instrument as a means for influencing
the policy agenda in environmental law matters
since the adoption of Regulation (EU) No 211/2011.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)195-203
Number of pages9
JournalEur UP: Zeitschrift für Europäisches Umwelt- und Planungsrecht
Volume16
Issue number2
Publication statusPublished - 26 Jun 2018

Cite this